Data Scientist Salary

In the United States, data scientists earn a median pay of $92,943 per year, while the mean figure is C$73,440 ($55,104 USD) in Canada. The data scientist salary comes to £36,014 ($45,097 USD) per year in the United Kingdom and AU$87,776 ($66,499 USD) in Australia. While in the UK the median pay for this job is at £35,317 ($45,248).

Data scientists earn between CHF78,000 ($77,577 USD) and CHF145,000 ($144,214 USD) in Switzerland, while in Norway there is an estimate of NOK750,000 ($87,353 USD).

Data Scientist Salary Influencers

The earnings for data scientists turn on factors such as experience, skills with particular kinds of data software and whether the professional works in the private or public sector. In certain countries, employee benefits are treated as statutory or regulatory entitlements.

1. Industry

Experience with particular types of software and applications can shape pay of data scientists. In the United States, those with skills in Apache Hadoop data processing software make eight percent above the average. This skill yields 68 percent higher than mean pay for data scientists in the United Kingdom.

The type of field or industry also influences the pay of data scientists. In Australia, as reported by news.com.au, the “Institute of Analytics Professionals of Australia 2014 Skills and Salary Survey” states a mean pay of AU$190,000 for data scientists working in social media.

Data scientists in the private sector earned more than their academic or government counterparts. According to KDnuggets 2014 Analytics/Data Science Salary Survey, self-employed or company-employed data scientists in the United States and Canada earned $135,000 per year, while those in academia and government made $85,000. In Australia and New Zealand, salaries were (in US Dollars) $150,000 for private-sector data scientists and $105,000 for those in academic and government sectors.

2. Geographical Area

Data Scientist Salary

US

Canada

UK

Australia

Switzerland

Norway

Hourly Wage

$44.68

C$35.31

£17.31

AU$42.20

CHF48.08

NOK360.58

Annual Wage

$92,943

C$73,440

£36,014

AU$87,776

CHF100,000

NOK750,000

Data Scientist Salary in the US

According to PayScale, the median salary for an IT data scientist in the United States stands at $91,000 per year. While total compensation runs between $62,714 and $142,361. Networkworld magazine reports, for 2017, that data scientist salaries should range between $116,000 and $163,500.

Data Scientist Salary in Canada

Data Scientist Salary in the UK

According to PayScale, the median salary is £35,317 for IT data scientists in the United Kingdom. In total, pay runs from £25,446 to £61,915. Hired’s “2017 State of Global Tech Salaries” says the mean salary for data scientists in 2016 was £56,000.

Data Scientist Salary in Australia

The mean pay in Australia for a “Data Scientist/Engineer,” as reported by PayScale, is AU$87,776 per year. While these professionals make from AU$63,000 to AU$127,233 per year.

Data Scientist Salary in Switzerland

Data Scientist Salary in Norway

Statistics Norway does not post salary information specifically for “data scientists.” However, “Mathematicians, actuaries and statisticians” in Norway have a mean salary of NOK51,300 per month, which translates to NOK615,600 per year. The company Harnham posts an annual salary of NOK800,000 for its data scientists.

3. Experience

PayScale reports that entry-level IT data scientists in the United States earn a median pay of $89,000. The median rises to $107,000 after five years of experience, then to $120,000 at ten years. After 20 years, the median pay is $149,000. In Canada, “mid-career” and “experienced” data scientists, with five years and ten years of experience respectively, garner pay of 16 percent above the mean level.

Those professionals in the United Kingdom with ten to 20 years of experience fetch 94 percent above the mean pay. Five to ten years of experience as a data scientist translates to 36 percent higher than mean earnings.

Working Hours

The data scientist profession is generally a full-time calling. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, one out of ten “computer and information research scientists” logged more than 40 hours per week.

The Australian Government’s Job Outlook reports approximately 79 percent of mathematicians in Australia, which include statisticians and those performing data science functions, worked full time. Also, these full-time professionals worked a mean of 38.5 hours per week, compared with 40.2 percent for all occupations in Australia.

Finally, in Canada, nine out of ten “Mathematicians, Statisticians and Actuaries” worked full-time, compared with 81 percent of the overall workforce in the country.

Bonuses & Benefit Packages

Bonuses in the United States, run from $1,034 to $18,313. For data scientists in Canada, the bonus range starts at C$489.36 and runs to C$15,456, as reported by PayScale. Reported bonuses in the United Kingdom reach £10,000, while the figure is AU$8,242 in Australia.

In Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Switzerland, and Norway, salaried data scientists receive statutory job perks. Moreover, in Australia, Switzerland, Norway and the United Kingdom, these include paid annual or holiday leave.

Switzerland has a three-tier retirement system in which Old Age and Survivors/Disability Insurance and mandatory employer contributions account for 60 percent of employees’ retirement. In the third tier, employers may voluntarily contribute to employee pensions. Norway and Australia also have laws that entitle employees to employer-funded retirement.

Job Outlook

Overall, companies have increasingly adopted or seek to use data science. According to Forbes magazine, larger companies have increased their hiring of data scientists. In 2015, employment by startup companies stood at 14 percent, down from 29 percent the previous year.

Generally, data scientists hold at least master’s degree and some have Ph.D. degrees. As cited in Forbes magazine, an MIT Sloan Management survey states that 43 percent of respondents have difficulty in hiring data scientists due to lack of analytical skills in applicants. According to Canadian Business magazine, 53 percent of large Canadian businesses blamed the lack of skills in analytics for hiring challenges.

Yet, the supply of data scientists currently remains relatively small. The United States has a shortage of 190,000 potential employees with experience in analytics and a shortage of 1.5 million managers with the ability to use data. While Job Bank reports 7,900 mathematicians in Australia as of November 2015.

As part of Switzerland’s data science initiative, the country will have ETH Zurich, EPFL and the Swiss Data Science Center offering master’s courses in data science in September 2017.

Conclusion

The data science field presently has small numbers of occupants due especially to the emergence of the field and the general requirement or preference for master’s degrees. With the importance of demographics and data to organizations, those who can achieve the qualifications can readily find opportunities for work. Pay generally rises with experience and with getting jobs in private enterprises.